New to Coins

PFB

Hi -
I am new to coins and was looking for some advice - I have purchased about 100 (total) of the following:

I have more than 50 of these

http://r.ebay.com/yKbtMF

As well as more than 50 of these

http://r.ebay.com/zgvoCv


And then a few of these
http://r.ebay.com/fJmYgk

I have been purchasing old US mint sets unopened from various years - I was born in 1974 and we have a 4 and 6 year old.

My objective is to purchase coins that I can one day pass onto the kids (we have a boy and girl). I started with the U.S. Mint Sets, they carry a premium for silver and gold. I bought those for their birth years.

Any general guidance? I collect sports cards and I could tell someone in my situation what would be go investments long term.

I just don't want to "waste" money by buying something and 10 years from now, be the same. I know there are no guarntees.

Any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks -

Peter

lkeigwin

Welcome to the forum!

It appears you are tying your stars to bullion, not collector coins. You might get better advice on the Precious Metals forum.

You will probably not find a lot of collectors here who will share your enthusiasm for modern mint sets and bullion.
Lance.

cameonut2011

The value will fluctuate sharply and isn't predictable. Buy it if you like it, but I think there are better investments such as mutual funds.

Bochiman

I did similar, when my son was born.
The US Mint Sets, and Proof Sets, with very few exceptions, meet the bar for your comment about "wasting money".
Do it for the fun, but don't do it for the "10 years down the road" bit. My mistake as well.

For the maple leaf bit...don't know the collector base for those, so I couldn't answer anything about those other than, I don't do it. I get the SAEs for the silver, or the GAEs for the gold.

I do know, I don't do "gilded" or "plated".

Since you have a theme of bullion, you may want to post in the Precious Metals forum here. Go in slow. Get actual silver without the "plated" bit for gold with it. I doubt it will go up based on that "extra" bit and you likely won't be selling it too quickly, at a good price, when the time comes.

TopographicOceans

Coins have 3 values:

Their denomination face value as issued by the governmentTheir intrinsic metal valueTheir value to a collector, which is the premium a collector will pay above the first two values

The coins you've shown have a $5 CAD ($4 USD) face value, a ~$16 melt value and a retail collector value of $44 (at least to you and others who have bought them).

Coins should be a hobby and not an investment. You have some major expenses to be saving for, namely your retirement and your kids college educations Coins won't make any dent in those.

Make sure you take full advantage of any matching funds from your employer in a retirement plan. Then get in the habit of saving money every month in a ROTH IRA and College 529 saving plans your kids. Don't "invest" in coins.

PM me your address and I'll send you a couple of America The Beautiful Quarter albums and starter coins. They run through 2011 and you can have fun with your kids searching for them in change and filling their albums.

That's what the coin collecting hobby is about!

desslok

Silver is about $16 per ounce, while you're buying it at $43 per ounce in this sale http://www.ebay.com/itm/111690533705. Silver will need to appreciate by 160% in 10 years for you just to break even. Hardly seems like a wise investment to me.

The minute amount of gold in the "gilding" or plating adds almost no value, and the "RARE" statement in the title is nothing more than a marketing ploy, as these coins are produced in millions, if not tens of millions (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Silver_Maple_Leaf). As for whether the collector interest for these coins hold them above the water, well, check the prices for those of previous years.

Coin collecting can be a fun and rewarding hobby. Coin collecting can also be a profitable business if you're very knowledgable and a little lucky. Coin investment can be a disaster if all you do is purchase mass-marketed material made specifically for the uninformed masses.

Type2

Peter.... There is a lot of work to it any one can throw $$$ at some thing like coins or any other collectables. But to buy a coin or any collectable at the right price is the key. If you buy right you will make $$ or have a nice coin collection to pass on that did not break the bank as for silver buy it right and buy it in coins like Morgan Dollars, Halves, Quarters, Dimes, you will be happy you did in the long run, Have fun and ask any question it's the smartest thing to do here.

CuKevin

Depending on how old your children are, I suggest you take them to a coin show. Find a dealer who gets excited about showing your children coins. If your kids become interested, help them start a set in one of the series that interests them and make it into a family hobby. They will also likely learn values such as saving money.

As for a collection to pass down to them, don't treat it as an investment. A Redbook will probably come in handy for having ballpark coin values as well as a wealth of information. My typical advice to new collectors is also to stick with coins slabbed by reputable companies and avoid the grades that jump in price until you are more comfortable grading. Also remember that it's okay to pay up for quality, even within a grade.

19Lyds

With what your purchasing, maybe by the time your kids are 35 and 37 years old, they might clean up in the bullion market since it took 31 years for it to recover to the 1980 levels the last time.


Just build a collection of what YOU like because there are no guarantee's that your kids are going to like whatever you've set aside for them AND by the time they're old enough to appreciate them, you might not be ready to give them up!

If it's their "future" you are concerned with then stay away from coins and instead invest the money you're spending on bullion into something which will actually grow over time.

asheland

AUandAG

Collect what you want and let the kids collect what they want (might be beanie babies)....coins are not
for everybody even if Dad does them.

bob

stevepk

You say you have 50 of each coin and provided an Ebay link selling them for $43 per coin, but you did not say you paid $43 per coin from Ebay. Did you happen to buy these elsewhere for a few dollars over melt, or did you buy them from Ebay at $43 each?

These are valued the same as American Silver Eagles, but are in less demand than American Silver Eagles due to popularity. This means that while they are worth the same as an ASE, it may require more time and effort to find a buyer. ASE coins typically sell for three or four dollars over melt and current sell for about $20 each. At $43 per coin, you are paying about $23 too much per coin. Multiplied by one hundred coins, this is a loss of about $2,300 should you happen to sell directly to a collector or bullion investor today.

If profit is your motive, you need to focus on supply and demand. Supply is relatively static, however, future demand for any coin is unknown. The best strategy is to determine what has been consistently popular for several decades and assume they will continue to be popular, but even this strategy is at fault. The coins you provided links to are hindered by over supply. Regardless of demand, any collector who will ever want an example will have minimal difficultly acquiring one. These are a poor investment based on the law of supply and demand.

derryb

The "gilded" coins you bought lost their coin collectability the moment someone altered them with the gold gilding. If you're going to collect coins avoid all after market altered coins. Based on your purchases you like the bullion. Nothing wrong with that but try to buy it as close to spot as possible. Everything you buy should be bought with "resell" in mind. The gilded coins will put a damper in good resell. The Canadian bars are an excellent choice.

My advice since it is for the kid's future is to stick with silver bullion, as close to spot as possible. Your best resell will be with American Silver Eagles, unaltered (not gilded) Silver Maples and those RCM 10 oz. bars, all recognized by buyers as quality bullion products. You will have to see spot reach the price of those gilded coins before you will break even on them, just not a market for them with serious coin collectors or with serious bullion stackers.

CoinJunkie

<< <i>If it's their "future" you are concerned with then stay away from coins and instead invest the money you're spending on bullion into something which will actually grow over time. >>


Bullion is really not an investment, but rather a hedge against inflation. If you want a greater chance of
realizing capital appreciation, I'd recommend a low cost S&P index fund such as SPY. You might consider
putting 10% of the assets in gold bullion (or just the GLD), again as a currency hedge.

ricko

Welcome aboard Peter... I will not try to add to the above inputs, except to say much of it is very sound advice. Good luck, Cheers, RickO

MsMorrisine

<< <i>
I have more than 50 of these

http://r.ebay.com/yKbtMF

As well as more than 50 of these

http://r.ebay.com/zgvoCv

>>



these are common enough and the collector base low enough that I would not expect them to take off in price.

MsMorrisine

<< <i>
And then a few of these
http://r.ebay.com/fJmYgk
>>




these are a pure precious metals play and there is a "right price" over the price of silver to pay on them or you are paying too much.


check out this place's precious metals forum

MsMorrisine

<< <i>The "gilded" coins you bought lost their coin collectability the moment someone altered them with the gold gilding. If you're going to collect coins avoid all after market altered coins. >>




and this is true, too.


you'll find people buying altered coins on ebay, but the true silver buyers and the true coin buyers stay away from after market altered coins for the most part. Buy with caution.

jmski52

Welcome, Peter. If those Canadian Silver Maples didn't come from the Canadian Mint that way, they are only going to be worth the price of silver bullion, maybe a little less. The silver bars, not a bad choice. If you want to ask questions about gold & silver as bullion, come over here:

Visit the Precious Metals Forum

For discussions on gold & silver collectable coins (both Modern and Classic), stay here at the Coin Forum.

Both places are good resources.